Boards

'At a party [in 1987] held by fashion designer Fernando Sanchez, Ayer, then 77, confronted Mike Tyson harassing the (then little-known) model Naomi Campbell. When Ayer demanded that Tyson stop, the boxer said: "Do you know who the fuck I am? I'm the heavyweight champion of the world," to which Ayer replied: "And I am the former Wykeham Professor of Logic. We are both pre-eminent in our field. I suggest that we talk about this like rational men".'

I like the story of Allen Ginsberg playing diplomat between the hippies and the Hell's Angels. The bikers were going to violently break up a march against the war in Berkeley, but Ginsberg turned up covered in flowers and all gay, and not only managed to convince them to change their minds but actively join in as well.